Which Show Replaced TOS on NBC's Schedule?

And earlier, Charles Gemora and George Barrows.
http://www.hollywoodgorillamen.com/

 

That was before they invented Andy Serkis.

 

Rick Baker invented Andy Serkis.

 

Andy Serkis is such a dedicated character actor, he went to Africa to study gorillas in person before playing the title role in King Kong. It's one of my favorite movies. And if I'm not mistaken, Rick Baker created his own Kong costume.

 

Can't say I've ever heard of Bracken's World! Was it a science fiction show?
JB

 

Me either, but I did my due diligence and learned I think it was a TV series about making a TV series in Hollywood. I did recognize Dennis Cole, though.

@Christopher has a better description, below.

 

Apparently Bracken's World was about starlets trying to make it in the movie business and the studio executives they worked for. This article likens it to Valley of the Dolls toned down for TV. It co-starred Madlyn Rhue and Planet of the Apes' Linda Harrison, and had lots of cameos by celebrities playing themselves.

 

Something that takes over the slot need not be thematically similar.
Equally, Chuck survived for five seasons because "Ratings were never great, but we never had anything to replace it that looked likely to do better. Plus, we liked it, even if not enough viewers did."

 

Certainly not. After all, if one show of a certain type failed in that slot, they'd want to try something different that might have a better chance of success. After all, SF shows were rare back then, and far from a proven or well-regarded genre. The failure of an SF show was likely to be seen as a reason to avoid doing another, and to play it safe with a more conventional drama.

 

Chuck who? What did I miss?

 

Chuck. Spy series. Best capture of the Avengers/UNCLE spirit of recent years. Main cast, aside from Adam Baldwin, were then mainly unknowns, but recurring characters were played by Tony Todd, Gary Cole, Bruce Boxleitner, Morgan Fairchild, Timothy Dalton, Linda Hamilton, Scott Bakula, Chevy Chase...

 

Oh, and one episode features Sgt Al Powell, from Die Hard and Die Harder. Same actor, same character, another bad Christmas.

 

Yes. Plus a number of other (and better) ape costumes. I was joking about Baker creating Serkis, since he's such a brilliant and talented makeup artist.

 

And 2001, with it's multiple ape proto-men.

 

And who played Bracken in season one of Bracken's World?

Spoiler

Rojan of Kelvin

 

Don't even think about it...

 

Rojan (Warren Stevens) was one actor who didn't know how to wear a wig! His toupee just sat there, almost like it had shrunk in the wash! Surely the Shat could have given him some pointers?
JB

 

I thought I heard somewhere that "Laugh-In" took over Star Trek's spot when Star Trek was cancelled. I always gave Laugh-In a dirty look whenever I saw it in reruns (even though, admittedly, it had its funny moments and that all went down before I was born )

 

No, Laugh-In was the show that got the premium time slot Star Trek was slated for in season 3. NBC promised that slot to Roddenberry, but Laugh-In was a much bigger hit and its producer demanded that slot, so Trek got bumped to the Friday night death slot, Roddenberry felt betrayed and walked away from the show, and Fred Freiberger was brought in to take his place as season 3's showrunner (as we'd call it today).

 

Ok, that must be what I saw. At least I know I wasn't totally imagining things (just partly )